


Looks like a second possiblility

by Alexander_Wesker



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Inspired by Fanfiction, It's Jeremiah from s05 into his body pre-spray, Post s05e07 - Ace Chemicals, Post-spray Jeremiah, pre-spray jeremiah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-06 07:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18383453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexander_Wesker/pseuds/Alexander_Wesker
Summary: Jeremiah fell into that chemical vat, and now he is back.Back to a time before the insanity spray, before his twin brother died.He is back, and he has still plans for Gotham...





	1. It started slow....

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ldiot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ldiot/gifts).
  * Inspired by [❓](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18365939) by [ldiot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ldiot/pseuds/ldiot). 



> I hope you'll like this story.  
> I'm thinking of continuing it but what do you think, wuold you want to see a continue or I leave this as an one shot?

 

“You have some explaining to do, kid” said the other cop, Gordon’s partner. 

Jeremiah couldn’t never exactly remember his name, for some reasons, the only thing he remembered was that it surely started with a ‘B’.

 

This time they didn’t bring him to the district, well, it’s not like he could blame them, they literally caught him hugging the same psychotic, murderous brother he was mortally afraid of, and on top of that he just laughed hysterically,  as if he was just as crazy as his aforementioned brother , so Jeremiah could actually understand why they had simply brought him back to the center of his labyrinth-like bunker.

The only thing he would ask for, would be only a few painkillers and maybe, but only maybe if they could actually help him tend to the wound on his shoulder, only to not bleed out… that would be such an anti-climatic death after all he did to Gotham.  ( _Things that, well, now actually never happened_ ) 

Jeremiah had to suppress a giggle at that thought, and at the fact that two of the numerous people who wanted him dead now  were there simply staring at him, with a puzzled look in their eyes – Gordon seemed even a bit preoccupied for him.

 

( _How cute!_ )

 

“So?” he heard Gordon’s partner say.

 

“So, what, detective?” Jeremiah answered his voice steady and cool enough to almost give the illusion that the room itself had got colder – an impossible thing to achieve realistically, but the human mind is a funny little thing that loves magnify fears by creating illusion that function against the mind itself.

 

“So, what happened back there? Would you care to explain what do you thought you were doing hugging that psychopath?”

 

“Is that what truly concerns you, Detective?” Jeremiah asked, raising an eyebrow at what he thought was an excessively trivial question.

 

_Weren’t the Detectives supposed to be worried about Gotham right now?_

 

_And for the love of everything good in Heaven could someone bring him a first aid kit? His hand could stop only so much blood…_

 

“For someone who was so deadly afraid of his own brother to hide in a bunker of his own design to keep said brother out, you don’t seem very afraid after seeing him”

 

Jeremiah looked at Gordon as soon as he finished talking. “Maybe, or maybe, I’m not very calm right but, since I’m bleeding out I don’t see why I should be panicing , leading myself to lose even more blood?” he said, before trying to stand, only to sit down again immediately after, his head spinning. He was actually only now recognizing the signs of the blood loss he had been experiencing. 

He was too focused in understanding how could he have been sent back in time, and secondly trying to not get in even more problems with the cops,  to notice it before .

 

It was already very aggravating that they thought he was crazy. He could sustain Jerome’s judgment, he never cared of what he thought of him. Not true, there was a time in his life in which he h e ld Jerome’s advice s to heart, not anymore.

 

( _A part of him still does_ )  


But having the cops thinking he was crazy, no, he didn’t like that even a bit.

 

“You have a first aid kit, somewhere down here?” Gordon asked, his voice a bit cold, a bit suspecting but he seemed to have noticed how Jeremiah had paled in the last few moments of their ‘ _talk_ ’.

 

Jeremiah rolled his eyes, apparently annoyed by the question. Obviously he had one ( _more than one to be honest, what kind of idiot wouldn’t have something as a first aid kit… especially when living in the middle of nowhere?_ ) “Of course” he answered” It’s in the room right around the corner from here, the code to open the door is: 4817, be careful to put it right or it will change… and honestly I don’t  think I have much time before fainting…, so  _please_ don’t accidentally trigger the safety lock-down”

 

If the Detectives  were offended by his condescending  tone, they didn’t let it show, while they, both – because Gordon’s partner  wa s absolutely sure he  wa s trying to trick them, as if he would while they could be useful for him –, l eft the room.

But before they were too distant to be heard, Jeremiah heard Gordon’s partner say, not in much of a murmur as if he couldn’t hear him( _like, he is just on the edge of passing out, it’s not like he has suddenly become deaf_ ):”I told you, that one is just as nuts as his brother”

 

Jeremiah felt a ping of anger, igniting like a fire in his chest at being put on the same plane as Jerome, but on the other hand the thought was just…  _hilarious_ , he crazy as Jerome?  _That would be the day!_

 

He had  barely the time to lean against his desk, just so to not crash against the cold, hard cement floor, before passing out.

Hoping that when he woke up he would be still in this time and not sent back to the future, he couldn’t bare the idea of feeling all of that again.

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing that he noticed as he woke up was the clinic, cold, clean white that surrounded him. And as for, now, Jeremiah doesn’t exactly know why his first thought seeing that was that he was sent back in time again, panic blooming in his chest, making his heart race, because… _he couldn’t face Lila’s wrath again! Not again!_

 

It took him a solid minute to regain control on himself and understand that: no, he wasn’t sent back in time again but yes, he was in a hospital room.

He was now conscious even of the cop that was behind the closed door, but was he there to protect him or to assure that he wouldn’t escape?  
And it was because he was so attentive to his ‘guard/jailer’ that he noticed the second pair of steps that joined his, and a click then a ticking, before silence fell.

The door to his room was opened and Jeremiah unconsciously tensed, knowing even without looking up who had entered his room.

 

“Hello, brother” Jerome’s raspy voice broke the silence, and Jeremiah lifted his eyes from the white tiled floor to look at his twin and seeing Jerome breath and walk, was somewhat unsettling. The fact that he had seen his dead body – even pushed it back into his grave – and seeing him alive and well again, it’s… strange, weird. And made him warm with anger and… _content_?( _He had never thought that he would be so glad to see Jerome alive… well, things change after you experience the excruciating pain of a bath in acid_ )

“ _How_ … no, scratch that I know how you’ve got here, I heard Tetch’s pocket clock, why are you here?”

 

Jerome seemed confused at first, almost as if he had expected him to be a crying mess of fear and anxiety, but then his confusion faded in a sort of almost proud glimpse that shone in his green eyes. “How rude, brother, not even a ‘ _hi, Jerome, I’m so glad to see you’_ , really?”he said, his smile wide and mad, Jeremiah only looked at him unimpressed, maybe his old self would have been terrified but his present self? No, Jerome didn’t scare him anymore. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I almost preferred you when you were crying like a baby… than… what even is this”

 

“Why are you here, Jerome?” Jeremiah repeated, as sternly as he could manage, his eye boring into his brother’s.

 

“Me?” he asked pointing to himself “Oh, I was just passing by when I remembered that the police had brought my dear brother into the hospital, so I thought that I could pay you a visit”

 

“Of course, this is the reason, and I’ve worked for the Queen of England” Jeremiah said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

 

“Oh, really? Good for you” his twin responded with the same amount of sarcasm, yet the insane smile on his lips looked more genuine that he had ever seen on his brother’s face in a long time.

Right before he betrayed him to escape the circus.

Jerome turned a bit to his left, looking at someone behind him. Jervis Tetch in his gloomy suit and top hat entered the room. Jerome’s eyes returned on him, excitement sparkling in his irises.

“I do not need to be hypnotized to follow you, and quite frankly I don’t want to. I don’t trust you enough to not make me do something embarrassing while I’m under his ‘spell’”

 

Jervis looked at Jerome: “What do we do, Jerome? He doesn’t want to be your drone. Should I proceed anyway?”

 

“Since when do you care if someone wants or not to be hypnotized?”The question slipped out from his mouth before he had even the time to think about it.

Jervis didn’t answer looking at Jerome.

 

“So, you say you would follow me, brother? Are you not scared of what I will do to you?” asked Jerome his voice dark and low.

 

“I would slit your throat before you could even lay a hand on me” Jeremiah answered, sure of his words, knowing that he could, and that he didn’t fear to do it.

The answer to his words was a laugh, that same chilling laugh that Jeremiah remembered to have heard while Jerome was falling.

“I take back what I said before” Jerome said after his laugh faded “I like this new you.” His smile seemed to become even wider “Well then, brother, shall we leave? I’m a bit in a hurry” he stretched his hand out waiting for him to take it. As if they were striking an accord, or a promise.

 

An alliance of sorts.

 

Jeremiah’s gaze went from his brother’s face to his hand and then back, the anticipation in Jerome’s eyes was almost palpable like a positive form of tension. Jeremiah sighed and took his brother’s hand.

Again struck by the fact that it wasn’t deadly cold but warm, alive. “Well, that’s quite the surprise… Let’s go then we have a city to drive to insanity!”

 

“Uh, we have a little problem, for that, Jerome” Jeremiah said, as if he was only now realizing he had nothing on him a part from the hospital gown.

 

“Don’t worry, bro. I thought about that” Jerome told him, handing him the bag he had with him. Jeremiah looked inside and then back to his brother unimpressed “Don’t give me that look, we’ll be perfectly identical with you wearing that… well… perfectly identical except that for this” he said gesturing to his own face with a hand.

 

Jeremiah rolled his eyes, and closed again the bag, going into the bathroom adjacent to his room to change.

And he had to admit that even if it wasn’t the look he would have choose for himself, Jerome’s choice of clothing looked good on him too. ( _Which was to be expected since they were twins but Jeremiah didn’t thought that he would have liked this light colors on him_ ) He looked at his reflection one more time, before deciding that the glasses were unnecessary for this look.

And to be perfectly honest it wasn’t like he needed them, he had always wore them to distinguish himself from Jerome, but now… well, he didn’t like them very much.

 

“So, how do I look?”he said in a bit of a half attempt of a jest, while exiting the bathroom. Jerome smiled, a bit cruelly, Jervis clapped his hands a bit, while rhyming a compliment.

 

 

“Let’s go now, brother.”Jerome said, smiling darkly. “Gotham is in for quite the surprise”

 


	2. But now the show is about to start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerome was even crazier than he thought

“So, what do we do now?” Jeremiah asked, while following his brother through an almost empty corridor, that was technically the corridor for the personnel but Jerome had either killed or hypnotized, thanks to the Mad Hatter, everyone that was there so… it was their route to leave the hospital unseen.

 

“Now we go and meet the Ice Guy and take our pack…” his twin answered, not sparing him even a glance, proceeding through the corridor.

Jeremiah nodded, more to himself than to Jerome, trying to remember what else had happened this day, and what could this ‘pack’, they were going to retrieve, be.

 

In the meantime they reached the backdoor exit of the hospital, the one that was only for the employees, and parked there, there was a van.

“Is that van from a slaughterhouse? I can smell blood from here” said Jeremiah, his expression showing a bit of his disgust, he wasn’t squeamish when it came to spill blood or similar but the smell of old, dried blood wasn’t the best kind of odor to smell, so soon after exiting from a hospital. The clean, stinging, almost chemical odor from the disinfectant that clashed horribly with the smell of blood coming from the van.

 

“Maybe… I needed something with hooks so...”Jerome said shrugging his shoulders. Then he looked at him with a somewhat sly smile “Does it disturb you, brother?”

 

“Not as much as you would like”

 

“Oh, shucks, I was thinking of closing you in the back… but it isn’t that funny if it doesn’t disturb you”

 

“Sorry to disappoint, _Jerome_ ” Jeremiah answered sarcastically, already annoyed by his twin’s attitude.

 

 

In the end they resolved all by having Jervis in the back and them in the cabin. Jerome in the driving seat and Jeremiah in the passenger one.

And it was when he saw Mr. Freeze, the Penguin and Firefly that he connected all the dots.

The hostages. They were picking up the hostages that were: The Mayor, the new Commissioner of the GCPD(that Jeremiah knew wasn’t going to survive), some religious figure and a woman that, to be honest, Jeremiah had no idea of what kind of role she had in Gotham’s government.

 

The second thought that came to his mind had him suffocate a giggle behind his gloved hand, under Jerome’s amused look.

“What’s so funny, brother?” he asked, turning of the engine and preparing to leave the vehicle.

“I was thinking of the faces of you allies when they will see me” he answered truthfully.

Jerome joined in with a, not so unnoticeable, laugh. “Fuck. I had forgot that they don’t know I’ve a twin” he said laughing “This is gonna be fantastic!” he exclaimed, jumping off the cabin that was slightly elevated.

Jeremiah followed him, a bit annoyed with Jerome’s giddy attitude, but with a slight smile on his lips.

They went around the van to join the others, that were loading up the hostages in the back of the van, blocking their chained wrists on the meat hooks, by the chain of the handcuffs.

 

And, even though, Jeremiah didn’t like chaos as much as his brother, he had to admit that seeing the shocked faces of the other rogues was that much fun that he couldn’t stop his laughter, joining his twin.

In a way that he hadn’t in a long time, their voices merging together in a sole sound, even though Jerome’s laugh was a bit rougher than Jeremiah’s.

 

“There… there are two of them” he heard the Penguin whisper, in something that appeared to be utter terror, and that made Jeremiah laugh even harder, so much in fact that he had to lean against his brother to stand stably. ( _When was the last time he laughed this much?_ )  
  
_Right_ … When he and Jerome were kids, before the rivalry, before he turned on him to get his personal freedom, leaving his twin back, with that monsters disguised as a human beings that were their mother and uncle.

 

That thought was enough to wipe away any trace of hilarity from him, making him end his laugh abruptly. Jerome stopped with him, glancing curious at him before concentrate himself on his allies that were still looking at them shocked.

 

The first to find their voice and speak, was Firefly.

“Are you from Indian Hill?” she asked, looking at him with something resembling sympathy.

Jeremiah looked at her perplexed, while Jerome took the mayor by his arm lifting him on the van with no gentleness in his actions.

“Indian Hill?”he repeated, searching in his mind any information about it, finding nothing.

 

“He is my twin, Firefly, now move the fuck out of my way” Jerome interrupted growling, rage in his eyes and a scowl on his face.

 

 _Why was he so mad all of a sudden?_  
  
Firefly did what Jerome told her, shooting an angry glance at him, and if glances could kill Jerome would be dying, burning with the force of her angered stare.

 

The mayor started muttering promises and threats before Jerome smacked him into silence.

“You know, dear mayor, normally I would be amused by your useless threats, but right now, it’s better for you if you shut that stupid, nonsense-spitting, mouth of yours if you still want to have your tongue in its place. Are we clear?”

 

The man paled, and Oswald that was on Jerome’s side did the same, before closing his mouth, nodding and slightly trembling under Jerome’s glance.

Then he turned around, looking at his brother.

“Could you take here that fine lady, brother dear?” he asked, some kind of unrecognizable emotion dripping from his voice.

“Her?” he said, pointing to the woman that was wearing a purple shirt with what seemed to be a cockade appointed on. Jerome nodded, and Jeremiah brought the woman on the van, yanking her up with quit a bit of unnecessary force when she resisted, and causing her to cry out in pain.

“Shut up, it wasn’t that bad” Jeremiah said to the woman “Try being shot in the shoulder… that is painful”

“Or being stabbed in the throat” Jerome added, his rage slowly fading away

“Well for how much painful it is, it’s almost instantly fatal too, so...”

 

“Not instant, it’s slow, brother, you can feel your own blood clogging your throat and filling your lungs, it’s not that fun either… trust me, I’ve proved it” Jerome said, his eyes fixed on Jeremiah’s, his voice low, but not menacing, yet Jeremiah felt himself tensing, waiting for Jerome to strike.

 

It didn’t happened.

 

“Chain her to that hook” Jerome said, pointing at a solitary hook mounted on the steel wall of the van. Jeremiah did has he said. “Wanna see something _exhilarating_ , brother?” Jerome asked, moving closer to him, his gloved hands on his shoulders. It all seemed futilely ominous. “Mr. Crane would you give us a demonstration?”

 

The Scarecrow went towards the woman. “Gladly, Mr Valeska” he said and Jeremiah could hear the vicious, malevolent smile that was on his face from his voice.

 

He pointed his syringed glove toward the woman’s crying face, and then a thick, purple cloud was sprayed in her direction.

 

Jeremiah almost choked himself, remembering how it hurt. How solid that cloud felt as he breathed it, the particles of whatever chemical powder was in there scraping his throat and lungs and then the pain that invaded his whole body when its component flown in his blood.

All the pointless pain he went through for something that in the end didn’t even work… even if Bruce – his emotionless eyes staring at him… _why couldn’t he_ _understand_?! – was sure it did, only for the mild cosmetic effects it had on his body… not there anymore, now that he was back at a time before the spray even happened.

 

He was brought back into reality from the sound of pained, manic, unnatural laughs coming from the woman, that was now laughing, and laughing, and crying, her skin getting paler and paler, her mouth getting wider, so much that it just… _ripped_ in the corners, blood seeping from the gashes yet she kept on laughing.

 

_Was that the real effect of the gas?_

 

She laughed and laughed until she made no more sound, she was dead, just like that, bloody tears running from her eyes that merged with the blood on her cheeks, She looked has if someone had carved a Glasgow’s smile on her face.

 

That was actually… _horrific_.

 

After that show of madness, that left everyone in a loss for words, mostly for terror that for anything else, Penguin, Fries and the Mad Hatter left the van. Firefly remaining.

 

And Jeremiah couldn’t understand why she had that sympathetic glimpse in her eyes every time she looked at him.

She never had it in the future… well, to be honest, he wasn't sure of that he never met her in person, only talked with her minions who, by the way, hated him as pretty much all the rest of the city.

 

“Jerome, you can’t use that gas… it’s too… _lethal_ ” Jeremiah said concerned to his brother while they were getting on in the cabin again.

 

“I know that, brother” Jerome said, and in the angle he was seeing him now, Jerome looked even more unhinged than usual, he looked completely out of his mind. Then Jerome laughed low and chilling “And that’s the fun part. They think I’m goin’ to bring this city to madness but in reality” he paused, taking off his eyes from the road and looking at him “I’m gonna kill them all”


	3. The abyss was dark and deep, so he lent a hand...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between the twins, things are slowly falling back into place. A new plan is decided... still Jerome can't stop himself from thinking that they are forgetting something...

Jeremiah was taken back by his brother’s answer.

Perplexed and shocked by it, because… that wasn’t the plan at all! Not the plan that he remembered. Jerome’s plan was to drive him insane and with him all the city, so… why was he saying that he was ‘going to kill them all’?

Unless that was the plan all along and the first time and he was just… _stopped_.

“They will stop you, the GCPD, I mean”

  


Jerome didn’t look at him, his eyes now trained on the road, but he answered anyways: “The key word is: try, brother. They will _try_ to stop me” then he stopped, silence fell between them, and Jeremiah had all the time to think on how Jerome was so sure of the success of his plan, then Jerome continued: “Lil’ spoiler, bro. They won’t be able to.” A wide, wild crazy smile bent his lips, stretching the scars on his cheeks in a way that made his smile look completely inhuman, like the big, scary smile of the Cheshire's Cat, extended ear to ear. “And you know why? Because _this time_ you are in this, with me”

  


Jeremiah was about to answer when his mind processed the totality of the sentence, and he stopped, to be exact he _froze_ , it was as everything around him stopped moving. ‘This time’ Jerome said, this time… as if he knew that he didn’t accept before.

As if he was… reliving this moment just as he was.

  


Jerome didn’t see to have noticed his shock and continued: “You and me, brother, we are unstoppable. Do you remember what we could do when we were kids?… Before you turned against me” Jeremiah could almost feel Jerome’s gaze on him even though his brother eyes hadn’t moved from looking at road not even a bit. “I remember, they called us ‘monster twins’, oh, the things we did together… But, but now it’s all in the past, brother. But I know that with you on my side no-one will stop us, we’ll rule the city”

  


“There will be no city to rule if you proceed with this crazy plan of yours” Jeremiah managed to say, putting his shock in a well sealed compartment of his brain. “You can’t kill all this people, Jerome”

  


Jerome chuckled “What’s that, _brother_? Your conscience biting back?” he asked “’ _You can’t kill all this people_ ’ -”he mocked, imitating his tone in an almost perfect way, if a bit to rough than Jeremiah's real voice “You are beginning to sound as your old self brother… And I’ve to say, it’s a bit _disappointing_. I thought you would have understood”

  


“And I do, _Jerome_!” Jeremiah said “But you can’t rule a city with no citizen… that would be as a man on a lone island declaring himself the president of the island, what would he command on? _The palm trees?_ ”

Jerome side-stared at him a bit, before starting to laugh, but in a way that was soft, low, sincerely amused. “Never heard something so improbable said with such a deadpan tone, kudos to you, brother” he said after his laugh had calmed down. “But I’ve to admit that… _you have a point_. No people means no city to rule on, only a deserted land full of corpses” 

  


“Exactly” Jeremiah agreed flatly “We can’t proceed with this ‘ _sardonic poison_ ’ of yours but… we could… do something else…”

  


“Firstly, I like that name, _sardonic poison_ , has a nice ring to it, I maybe use it as the name of that gas. Secondly, well what’s your alternative plan, brother dear? I’m all ears, tell me”

  


“Well” Jeremiah started “we could cut Gotham out from the world, if we do that, knowing this city, mayhem will surely follow” he remembered the situation of the city when he _left_ it. The city mauled and dismembered in territories for each of the more powerful rogue.( _Jerome would have loved the chaos that was reining over the city, he couldn't but now... he_ can _)_  Jerome listened attentively to his words, seeming as if he was really considering his idea.

  


“Let me get this straight, you, _you_ my dear, reclusive, _harmless_ brother, are suggesting that we, as in we together, blow up all of Gotham bridges?”

  


Jeremiah nodded, before remembering that Jerome couldn’t see him clearly so he agreed vocally. 

  


“My, my, ‘Miah, aren’t you full of surprises.” Jerome said, his voice a bit sing-songing, a smirk on his face “What would, our _dear_ bitch of a mother, do if she could see you right now? I bet she is turning over in her grave upon seein’ her perfect golden boy suggest something like this”

  


“She is dead, I’m pretty sure she ain’t thinking about anything, now, Jerome”

  


It took a bit of time to the two brothers to understand a little something. That they were falling back in their old habits. Jeremiah seemed almost disgusted upon realizing that he had used that same  way of talking of his brother (that actually was their mother’s way of talking, that was in Jeremiah’s eyes her way to butcher the English language as best as she could), he hadn’t used it in such a long time. Since he started studying in St. Ignacious school, not wanting to be picked on by the other boys of the school.

Jerome instead seemed in an almost trance like state of shock. He hadn’t used Jeremiah’s name, figures the little nickname he created for him, since his twin started telling lies about him. Jeremiah had been only ’brother’ and derivatives of the word after that moment.

  


None of them said a word after that, a shock filled silence fell between the twins.

Until Jeremiah spoke again, after clearing his throat, as to steady his voice: “So… about blowing up the bridges… is that okay with you?”

  


Jerome nodded “Yeah, it is… ‘ _Miah_ ” this time the nickname left his lips with a tone of incertitude, so different from the Jerome that Jeremiah knew, “I’ll have to do a few calls, and oh boy, I’m sure they will not like this”

  


“Well, if your allies are against us than we’ll have to get rid of them”

  


Jerome smiled “I like your thinking, brother”

  


Jeremiah smiled.

  


  


It took a few calls, just as Jerome said, and the plan was changed.

No more insanity gas in the air, no, now they would have blown up the bridges. Which Jerome thought was way more fun than looking thousands of people die laughing ( _even though that was still hilarious as all hell_ ).

  


“I’ve a place where we could build the bombs” Jeremiah said “One of my labyrinths… and this one has a little something more that I think you’ll like”

  


Jerome listened, as Jeremiah gave him the indication to how to reach his second labyrinth.

  


And it was upon entering the warehouse like concrete room that was the entrance of the labyrinth that Jerome remembered something.

  


“Oh, shit. The _hostages_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to balance a bit of humor in with the seriousness. I don't know if I'm managing to do it or if I'm ruining everything, sorry if that's the case  
> I hope this is enjoyable. And thanks for reading.  
> Until next chapter


	4. And then suddenly everything was bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hostages are still in the twins hands, the mayor is dead, and Jim hasn't any idea on how to stop the two Valeska.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of the chapter is in Gordon's POV

 

Jim Gordon simply couldn’t  believe it.

 

_ Two times. _

He was tricked by a Valeska two  _fucking_ times.

 

First by Jerome and his innocent boy act. And now by Jeremiah and his scared, anxious young man act.

How could he be so  _stupid_ to be tricked by a Valeska a second time?

He should have known. He should have understood it, he should have  _seen_ it, in the lack of fear that Jeremiah showed after meeting his brother, he should have seen it in the madness shining in his green eyes while he laughed maniacally.

But no, he fell for that act too, he really believed that at least this Valeska was sane. Shouldn’t between two twins exist a good and an evil twin? Then why…?  


Jim shook his head, watching again the video broadcasted by the Valeska twins, trying to find something, anything, that could help finding the place where Jerome and Jeremiah are hiding, with their hostages.

 

Hoping that the hostages where still alive… three weeks were a long time, especially when in the hand of two crazed psychopaths, who threatened to blow the mayor’s head off if they didn’t get them what they needed… namely an encounter with Bruce Wayne.

 

Why were those two so fixated with  _Bruce_ ? Jim could understand why – well not, why but Jerome at least knew Bruce… so… his obsession with the boy wasn’t so improbable, but the other?  _Why was Jeremiah Valeska so fixated on Bruce Wayne?_

 

The light in his green eyes while he was saying Bruce’s name, would taunt Jim in his nightmares forever. There was such possessiveness, such twisted need in those eyes that that almost shadowed Jerome’s manic gaze and the twisted smile on his lips.

 

He refused to let Bruce go wherever the two wanted to meet him… and now the mayor was…  _dead_ . His head reduced in a red splatter on the concrete wall that was behind the twins… And it was all his fault.

But he couldn’t put Bruce’s life in danger, he couldn’t indulge those two psychos, making them believe that they were really above the law, and that Gotham would have bent to their desires.

Yet, because of him, Gotham’s First citizen was killed… on live broadcast, all citizens saw what was the result of his decision.

 

And that wasn’t all… Jerome’s followers were rising again, their ranks fuller than ever, some of the fugitives from Arkham that joined them, and they were causing havoc in the streets. Killing, shredding blood like it was nothing, because their idol was out again. And wasn’t alone.

Chaos come always in a pair after all. 

Destruction and Death.

A Plague and a Cleansing Fire.

 

Jim looked through all the footage again, and again.

There was nothing, nothing that told him anything useful to stop those two.

Instead that only impressed their laughter more into his brain.

Jerome’s manic, crazed laugh. 

And Jeremiah’s chilling cold laugh.

Their eyes sparkling of the same twisted emotion.

 

And then everything clicked, Jim went through the footage again, looking behind the twins, and the hostages. The walls were barren, pure gray, uncovered concrete, the floor was the same.

It was… like in Jeremiah’s labyrinth. 

Jeremiah and Jerome were hiding in some other underground maze projected by Jeremiah.

 

Jim had to talk with the Valeska’s assistant, Ecco, she could have known the positions of the other mazes that Jeremiah built. 

 

The Detective could only hope that Ecco wasn’t as loyal and as morally deviated like her boss.

 

Turns up she wasn’t. And that she was quite furious with Jerome for, and quote, ‘ _turning Xander into some psychotic murderer, that he was not_ ’ and no matter the fact that Ecco did know that Xander real name was Jeremiah, she would always call him Xander as this was the name he gave her when they first met, and this was the name she had call him for the last six, almost seven, years at his service.

 

And plus she was sure that, by getting Jeremiah away from his deranged brother, he would return back to who he was before. She firmly believed that all of this was completely out of character for the man she knew and that all was being caused by Jerome’s presence.

 

On the down side they had something like almost a dozen of mazes, hidden under all of the location in Gotham that Jeremiah had projected, to search.

 

* * *

 

 

Jerome chuckled, his smile wide, absolutely delighted by what he was seeing. The GCPD’s most skilled Detective falling in his brother’s trap.

“Well, damn, ‘Miah, that assistant of yours, sure she can act” he commented, loud enough to be heard over the whimpering of the hostages.

 

Jeremiah smiled, looking a bit proud of Ecco’s ability and of himself since, well, she was  _his_ , and consequently that meant that it was thanks to him that the plan was going so smoothly.

 

“Anyways” Jerome started looking up from the monitor and to his brother, that was in the far end of the room, tinkering with some glowing thing, that lightly buzzed, the sound reminded him that of a light trap for mosquitoes, but well more… deadly, since… if Jeremiah was telling that truth, that little thing could have blown up an entire building. “How’s the glowing bomb coming up?”

 

“Quite well, brother.” Jeremiah answered, it was still strange hearing him call him ‘brother’ and even if it had started for less than a week, Jerome thought that in the long run he could get used to it. “I would be even faster if we had the things that the Wayne Enterprises would have given us… but… regardless, it’s all coming up well"

 

“I can’t wait to see those bridges explode! It’s gonna be wonderful like some really destructive fireworks”

 

“It will indeed” Jeremiah muttered without meaning it, while working a bit more on the core of the bomb, with the projects of the generators still in his mind, it was really easy to build a bomb that had the same qualities, minus the defects that had stopped his otherwise perfect plan, before.

 

He was sure now that Gotham would be  _his_ , well  _theirs_ if Jerome continued to behave so well ( _and because, even if he is not ready to_ _admit_ _it even to himself, he had actually_ _missed_ _the sense of deep comprehension that there was between him and his twin_ ), ready to be shaped in the dark island, Bruce needed. And as for Bruce… 

This time he  _would_ understand,  _even if Jeremiah had to force him to open his eyes._

 


	5. Down the Purple Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins plan is going on smoothly, and Jim is in a bad situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry to be so late in updating a new chapter! (It's that I had a bit of a writer block, still I'm very sorry!)

Chaos was growing in the streets of Gotham, and it was almost a rehearse of what happened in the city when Jerome plunged it into complete darkness, after exploding the power plant across the river.

His fanatics were becoming bolder, _crazier_ even. Hailing Jerome’s name as the chant of a crusade army, Jeremiah’s name slowly slipping in their chants even if he hadn’t done nothing to gain their faith… _yet_.

Because of this almost all of the force of the GCPD was spread across the city, trying to contain the madmen and refrain them to do more harm to the citizens than what they had already done, and so Jim didn’t have any possibility to send out squads to scout the mazes that Ecco told him about. _Hell, it was a miracle that there were two agents able to come with him in the maze that Ecco was ‘almost certain it was where Jeremiah and his brother were hiding’._

 

The maze Ecco was referring to was built a few blocks before the Wayne plaza, under an abandoned building, that was once one of Wayne Enterprise’s laboratories, and that closed down sometime after the attacks of the Mad Hatter.

The entrance of the maze was in the basement level of the laboratory building, and to be frank it was a bit unsettling, the strong door was sealed by two heavy angular automated locks that were connected one with the other by a sliding metal rod, the metal of the door was slightly rusted because of the humidity that was seeping from the ground, since this portion of the city was near an underground tributary of the river thus making the soil very humid in this zone.

A slow hissing permeated the place, as if there was some high pressure pipe losing slowly steam somewhere in the distance.

Because of this Jim was feeling a bit tense, is instinct was telling him that something was about to happen and he didn’t have the slightest idea of what this something was.

The two agents with him – Smith and Reed – were just as tense as he was, a bit more on the antsy side of their nervousness, judging by how their hands run to the holster every time they heard a noise in the distance.

 

Ecco walked to the door, before typing something on a keypad near it. A loud mechanical noise filled the air drowning the hissing, while the metal rod slid back unlocking the two heavy locks with a loud ‘thud’, and then from the side of the lock of the door three cylinders slid out and the door slightly opened on its own.

Ecco pushed it open more, and then motioned them to go in after her, took out her gun and entered the maze, Jim and the agents did the same.

 

The maze was… different from what Jim had expected, Jeremiah always looked like the kind of guy who would have everything in his possession look as pristine as possible, but this place, surely didn’t look pristine with the black streaks of mold running down the concrete walls, the lights worked but barely, some of them flickering in and out, there was a faint moldy smell in the cold, humid air.

Still Ecco moved with a resolution in her steps that Jim couldn’t in anyway doubt that she was certain that _Xander_ and Jerome were here.

 

Still it did nothing to soothe his tension… _there was something wrong… something very, very wrong_.

 

They took a sharp turn and… Ecco disappeared.

“Ecco?” Jim called out, the echo of his voice spreading through the narrow hallways of the maze “Ecco!” he tried again, taking small steps along the hallway, the agents behind him.

 

Ecco didn’t answer, the hissing became louder and louder.

Then Jim heard a low chuckle, a rough sounding low chuckle, and he knew who it was. A flash of ginger at the end of the hallway.

“Jerome Valeska, you are under arrest!” the Detective said rushing towards the end of the hallway, trying to catch Jerome before he escaped. When he got at the end of the hallway, Jerome was nowhere to be seen. Jim looked around but there was nowhere where the boy could have hid himself, not a door in sight, not even a turn, the hallway ended in another long hallway that stretched right from where he was now.

 

_How fast could that boy run?_

 

“Detective?” said Smith, looking at him puzzled, as if he hadn’t see Jerome Valeska as he had.

Suddenly they heard a loud sound, like a gunshot.

“Reed. Where is Reed?” Jim asked to the agent.

“I don’t know, sir. He was right behind me” Smith answered.

 

Another gunshot.

 

Jim and the agent backtracked following the loud sound, and found agent Reed terrified, looking down one of the hallways, his gun raised.

 

“Stay back!” he screamed at nothing. “I said: stay back!” Another shot, Reed seemed almost panicking. “How…? How can you not be dead… oh god!”

 

Jim called to him, his voice soft and low, trying to not scare the man even more than he already was, to no avail since in the exact moment in which he locked at him, his eyes went wide, and he looked so utterly terrified as if he was seeing his worst nightmare come true.

 

“No, no, no no, no!” the agent muttered “You are… you are dead, you are dead!”

Reed took a step backwards, his eyes flying between Jim and the empty hallway, than he pointed his gun against Jim, who slowly raised his hands trying to reason with the man, while thinking of a way to disarm him without getting shot, he glanced to Smith who Reed had not yet seen, pointing him to stay hidden and go towards Reed to disarm him.

 

Reed looked panicked, his breath rapid and shallow, as if he was going in hyperventilation. His hands shaking, “I wont let you do it again, I wont!” he screamed “And if I can’t kill you… then” a little psychotic smile bent the agent lips, before he raised the gun pointing it to his own head. “I wont let you, bastard”  
Jim had only the time to take a step, while Smith run toward his colleague, Reed pulled the trigger, his blood splattering on the dark gray concrete. His body fell back hard against the ground, and the blood started slowly pooling under it.

 

Smith looked horrified “Why did… _he_ …?”.

Jim saw a shadow creeping from the hallway behind Smith. Another gunshot, Smith fell down forward.

And the shadow exited the darkness of the hallway.

 

Jim’s eyes widened in shock. “Harvey?” he said.

Harvey Bullock was there, a wide grin on his face and a manic light in his eyes, the gun with which he shot the agent still in his hand, pointed now to the ground. “Hey, Jim” he said his tone casual as if he hadn’t shot one of his colleague just a moment before.

 

“Harvey, why did you shoot him?” Jim asked, hating how low and whispery his voice was.

 

“It’s not important” Harvey answered, passing over the body without a care for the man he just killed.

“What do you…-!” Jim started but Harvey hushed him pointing the gun on him, the worst thing was that he didn’t looked hypnotized, his eyes glimmering and aware.

 

“Not important, I said.” he repeated “Jerome sent me here, Jim. I’ve to bring you to him, any other is just… not important”

 

“Jerome?! Since when you take orders from that psychopa-”

  
“Don’t call him that, _Jim_ ” Harvey interrupted him, “He is not a psychopath, you know? It’s that he knows that nothing really matters… And, you know, Jim things get a lot more fun when you get it”

 

Jim could only look in horror at his friend’s words “Harvey… you can’t really… You know that’s not true”

 

“Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim” Harvey repeated with a slight condescending tone his grin turning into a smile “You have to believe me, it’s far easier if you just accept it. Nothing matters, so why should you, or I, care so much about what’s going on? Tetch, Crane, all these nut-jobs running around the streets… they are only having fun with their newfound freedom who am I to stop them? Especially now that I understand. Jerome is actually a very inspiring guy if you give him the chance, you know?”

 

Jim stood there, looking at his friend at the manic light in his eyes while those nonsensical words left his mouth. _How could he really believe to that_?

This… All of this… _how could it be real_?  
  
Harvey smile got wider.

Someone joined him.

 

Jervis Tetch looked pleased, seeing Jim Gordon, _his sister’s killer_ , looking right at one of Jerome’s henchman, seeing instead his friend. The Scarecrow toxin filling the air.

He walked in front of ‘Harvey’ and before Jim could recognize him he pulled out his pocket watch. “Tick, Tock, _Jim_. Look right inside the clock”

 

He could only smile seeing the most righteous of Gotham’s sons falling under his influence. He instructed him with the orders of the Valeskas.

 

* * *

 

 

“It’s all ready, ‘Miah” Jerome said, grinning. While the metallic smell of blood permeated the air, the remaining hostages on the floor, whimpering while their life was slowly flowing away from the cuts that Jeremiah left on them with his knife. Jeremiah was smiling, wide and crazy just like him. And Jerome couldn’t help himself but being proud of his little brother ( _Jeremiah would always be his little brother even if they are twins_ ), plus blood looked very good on him, its brightness created a good contrast with the paleness of Jeremiah’s skin ( _honestly his brother should go out often, he was so pale that he looked as if he was sick with something_ ), and made his eyes stand out, especially with that manic glimmer that was shining, oh so bright.

 

“Wonderful” Jeremiah said, clapping a bit with his gloved hands, there was a strange energy around him, as if he was ecstatic for something. And the fact that he was able to sense it made Jerome even happier.

 

 _When was the last time that he and his brother were so close to feel each other emotions? To be honest, there even was ever a time in which they were so close to fell each other emotions_?

 

Frankly Jerome hadn’t not even the slightest of ideas of what was happening, the last thing he remember was falling, and laughing, Jim Gordon looking horrified at him, then a sharp pain everywhere and darkness. And then he was back again to the moment he threatened Jeremiah, alive and well.

And his brother, his little brother the same person that he hated for fifteen years, was looking at him with tears in his eyes and something resembling happiness shining between the tears, and then he hugged him with the same desperation of when they were kids.

He couldn’t help it, his hatred just melted away. Even if Jeremiah had ruined his life, spread lies about him, turning everyone they knew against him, he could never be really angry with his little brother, especially when he was hugging him like that.

 

Jerome didn’t know what happened but, even if this was a parallel universe or some shit like that, he was glad that he had his _brother back_.

 

“We have only to bring Bruce where we need him” Jerome heard his brother say, while cleaning, as best as he could, his face from the blood with a handkerchief.

 

“Don’t worry about it, ‘Miah. Bruce is gonna be there. _Jimbo_ is on it” Jerome said, snickering at the thought of Jim Gordon, _the righteous Jim Gordon,_ kidnapping Bruce Wayne for them. Jeremiah laughed with him as they left room.

 

“Hey, Jer, remember when I said you were going to like this maze?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

Jeremiah smiled while locking the room that they exited, locking all the whimpering hostages inside. Then he opened a panel put on the side of the wall, that had some tubes, like gas pipes, in and a big red button above them, with a label that said ‘PURGE’ above it.

  
“Would you do the honors, brother?” Jeremiah asked smiling.

 

“Gladly”, Jerome pushed the button and flames filled the room, the screams of the hostages that filled the air like a catching tune. Jerome laughed, almost drowning the sound of their screams.

 

They stared at the flames for some more moments, a smile on their lips. Then Jeremiah turned around towards him, taking his right hand in his. “Let’s go, Jer. We have a show to bring on”

 

Yeah, Jerome could not have any idea of what was happening, if this was real or not, if he was send back in time or in a parallel universe. But conquering Gotham with his brother? _Well that was a dream come true._

 

And it made him smile even more. And made him want to go to his mother’s grave only to tell her: ‘ _See, Lila? You failed. You and that fucker, Zach, you two fucking failed! Me and ‘Miah,_ we _are still the_ same _!_ ’

 

 


	6. No Man's Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins plan succeeded, what are they going to do next?

 

The building where Bruce was brought by Gordon was a 4-story warehouse in the outskirts of Gotham, that had just the perfect view of most of the bridges of the city, it was basically the perfect place to see the destruction they were going to bring to the city.

To see the bridges fall into the river below.

When the two twins arrived they were still smiling, of the same content, cruel smile that grew wide upon hearing Bruce’s voice.

“You are stronger than this, Jim” he yelled as Jim Gordon – ice blue eyes unfocused and glassy, face void of any expression – hold his arms, twisting them in a way that had to be uncomfortable other than slightly painful.

 

“No, he is certainly not” Jeremiah said entering in Bruce’s field of view, is voice low but not as cold as he wanted, an unidentifiable emotion that made is words almost quivery. Because finally, Bruce was there, again, in front of him. And his eyes were burning bright with rage, his darkness that was so close to the surface that Jeremiah could feel the full force of it, even without being confronted by it.

And if Jerome’s look was saying something, was that he was feeling it as well.

 

Bruce’s eyes moved between them, anger and mistrust in his gaze, he seemed a bit on edge, worried. Jeremiah loved that look on his face, of course he would have loved more to see Bruce welcome them with a smile and comprehension in his hazel eyes, but it was to early to want this.

He would eventually but right now, this was the best he could get.

 

And really, it was a thousand times better than that expressionless gaze he gave him, three weeks ago – _a year in the future?_ ( _It was a bit confusing and difficult to find a way to give sense to his memories_ ) –

 

“The GCPD is going to stop you two!” he said trying once again to shake off Jim’s grip without succeeding in his attempt.

 

“Yeah, no” Jerome said snickering “They wont, Brucey dear. They wont. And want ya want to know why? Because-” he took a step forward, getting near to Bruce “Because this time, Brucey boy, I’ve my brother with me. And when we do something together, well, we are quite the unstoppable force, and there is no obstacle that’s too unmovable for us to get past. Right, ‘Miah?” he said, turning his head a bit, to look at him.

Jeremiah smiled and took a step forward to be by his brother’s side again “That is quite right, brother” he agreed.

 

“If they are not going to stop you, then… _I_ will!”

 

“I would _love_ to see you try, _Bruce_ ” Jeremiah said, no, purred like a satisfied cat that was playing with its mouse.

And the look in his eyes was… _too much_ , there were too many emotions for someone who had never met him.

Jerome’s smile grew wider turning into a dark grin, as his brother’s emotions washed over him as waves, dark and powerful. Entangling with his, making him want and _need_ the Prince of Gotham just as much as Jeremiah.

 

Bruce looked scared now, even if he tried to hide it, he looked scared, cornered like a little wounded kitten. Jim’s grip that didn’t lessen not even a bit, that prevented him to do anything.

 

_How could this kid look so delicious while being so scared?_

 

Jeremiah’s eyes bored in to the frantic gaze of the Prince of Gotham, entranced, completely lost in his eyes, the smile on his lips sharp, as if he was a predator that had his prey exactly were he wanted it to be.

 

“You are going to love this, _Bruce_ ” Jeremiah whispered, leaning towards Bruce, disregarding completely any personal space that the kid could have hoped to have. “You better love it, _this time_ ” and his voice lowed, sounding almost like a growl.

 

Jerome noticed that Jim’s shoulders where slightly trembling, awareness seemed to blink in and out of existence in his eyes. Jeremiah closeness with Bruce seemed to be doing the trick in freeing Gordon from Jervis’ spell. The redhead brought his hand to his gun, ready to shoot if Jim did any slight movement that could mean harm to him or his brother.

 

_Plus, maybe killing Bruce’s second father figure in front of him, would be what could finally break the kid._

 

Then Jeremiah straightened his back and took a step backwards. “Well it’s time, isn’t it, Jerome?”

 

It took a moment for Jerome to recollect himself, then he looked to his brother “It is” he said, and went to his place by Bruce side, Jeremiah did the same.

Jerome on the right and Jeremiah on the left their hands on Bruce shoulders, while the boy futilely tried to free himself from Gordon’s grip.

 

“Look, _Bruce_. This is our gift for you” Jeremiah said, the hand on his shoulder tightened its grip, obliging the boy to look out from the window.

 

“Stare into the flames, Brucey, let them open your eyes”

 

And then the bridges exploded, falling into the river engulfed by flames. Gotham was now cut from the mainland, left to itself.

 

And that was what it took to free completely Gordon from Jervis spell, but Jerome already knew that that would happen, so with a swift move he hit the man in the side of his head with the grip of his gun, hard enough to make him lose consciousness.

 

“Huh? That’s disappointing” Jerome said staring at Jim “I thought it would be much more difficult…”

 

Bruce remained still for a moment, paralyzed by his shock. Then he tried to run, but Jeremiah was faster than him, gripping him by the arm and pulling him back, pressing him against his chest.

With his free hand he pulled a syringe out of his white coat and injected the content in the squirming kid.

“ _Not this time, Bruce._ ” he whispered “You are not going to escape from me, _again_ ”

 

 


End file.
